Spain and Belgium loan Euro 24 m to Sri Lanka 

Spain and Belgium are extending Euro 25 million worth of loans to Sri Lanka to build water supply schemes and reconstruct railway bridges, an official said yesterday.

The two proposals were approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday, Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters.

Bank of Spain has agreed to loan the Government Euro 21 million under a buyer’s credit program to construct a water supply scheme in the town of Ratnapura in the Sabaragamuwa Province.

“This will be 85 per cent of the total cost. The remaining Euro 3.8 million will be sourced from a local bank using domestic funds,” he said, adding that around 160,000 people would benefit from the proposed project.

In the second project the Belgian Government has agreed to lend the Government Euro 4.4 million to reconstruct six damaged railway bridges, two of which are on the outskirts of the capital city.

The two Cabinet papers were presented by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Finance Minister.

Traditionally Sri Lanka’s main loan givers have been Japan and India, with China topping the list since the end of a three-decade war in 2009.